


Morning Thoughts

by mogwai_do



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, Light BDSM, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 17:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13217733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mogwai_do/pseuds/mogwai_do
Summary: Douglas contemplates the latest and most unusual relationship in the Richardson repertoire.





	Morning Thoughts

Douglas slipped quietly back into the bedroom with his glass of water. It wasn't actually all that early, but it had been a long couple of days and the lie-in was much appreciated. He paused in the doorway, looking at Martin, half-curled on his side, shoulder bare and lit in warm gold by the curtain-filtered sunlight, eyes closed and one hand curled peacefully on the pillow. Douglas took a moment and a sip of his water and then, instead of going back to bed, he moved to the battered armchair that lived in the corner of the bedroom. 

Martin looked young and beautiful, and not in the way that Douglas was used to seeing young and beautiful in his bed. There was no artifice there and, much as it surprised him, Douglas found he liked it more than he ever had the airbrushed beauties of the past. He took another sip of his water and tilted his head considering; Martin was like one of those optical illusions where with a tilt of the head you saw the old woman with the headscarf or the young woman with the fur. 

Martin could be gangly and awkward, with his odd, angular face, ginger hair and enough nervous energy to power Blackpool lights. But in a different light, Martin had a fae kind of beauty, his grey eyes sure and steady, while the rest of him was all surprising grace and tranquil compliance. It was perception without the need for action; Martin’s usual behaviour turned on its head and the difference between the two was as small and as big as the slender chain gleaming dully around his neck.

Douglas let his head tip back; he'd never seen the appeal of this kind of relationship before, never been interested to be honest. There had been, way back when, a bit of roleplay once with an Air England stewardess, which had been fun enough at the time, but nothing that had really touched him enough to bother trying again. He'd known back then that it had been her 'thing' and as much reading as he'd done when his relationship with Martin had started, he'd always preferred a living teacher. So he'd called her one day while Martin had been hefting boxes to supplement his meagre wage; it was funny how he always managed to stay on good terms with all his exes, all but the ones he'd been married to anyway.

It had startled him to discover that she'd been amused, but not surprised. Apparently she'd seen the potential there even then, which was why she’d invited him in the first place, but that he'd needed to 'grow up a little’ first. Still, it had been good to have the reassurance that his instincts thus far had been correct. And he'd been hugely relieved to know that pain play was hardly a requirement if neither of them were into it; he wasn't and he was pretty sure Martin wasn't either, beyond the occasional nip of teeth at the just the right moment, but then who didn’t like that?

In fact, the most useful advice she’d given him had been to set aside any pre-conceived, or internet-spawned, ideas of what their relationship 'should' be like. "Think of it like you would 'normal' sex, Douglas: if neither of you like it, why should you do it? If one of you likes it and the other doesn't, compromise. If you both like it, then why not do it?" And well, they both really, really liked Martin on his knees sucking Douglas off, so here they were, making it up as they went along and it seemed to be working so far.

Martin liked to be held - held up, held down, bodyweight or fingers or soft leather wrapping him snugly. Douglas liked having control and he'd known that about himself for years, but had never really articulated it. It wasn't supposed to be a good thing in the normal run of relationships after all, except now it had a context and definition and actually it really, really was. It wasn't just about ordering someone around in bed; it was... it was making sure they ate enough because they were so used to eating the bare minimum or less because they couldn’t afford more and now they didn’t have to; it was taking care of someone because you had the means to do so and they didn't, whether that meant buying new clothes or negotiation on their behalf. Douglas found a satisfaction in it that was hard to describe and not something he actually wanted to try to explain to anyone else; it was private in a way his marriages had never been.

Anyway, it wasn't like they didn't have a 'normal' sex life too; there had been the quickie behind the portacabin on one exceedingly boring stand-by. There had been dates and romantic dinners because Douglas was good at those and he wasn't going to write off a good chunk of his repertoire just because his date this time was a man. 

Martin wasn't good at dates, in fact if pressed Douglas would find it exceedingly difficult to quantify exactly what it was that Martin did for Douglas, but that he did it was undeniable. Douglas was master of the grand gesture, but Martin seemed to have an instinctive grasp of something Douglas had never managed in all three of his marriages. Martin was a master of the little things; he even seemed to enjoy it, which given his attention to detail on GERTI probably shouldn't have been a surprise. He kept track of the shopping list and any appointments; he cleaned when the mood struck him; he made dinner often, though Douglas suspected that was still partly the novelty of having actual food to cook. But more than all that, he always seemed to know what Douglas needed. It had actually been a bit disturbing at first, but Martin didn't seem to realise how accurate his ability to read Douglas actually was; he was just there when Douglas wanted the company, or busy elsewhere when he didn't, and it was just _easy_. It seemed that, if left unexamined, Martin's instincts were, in fact, excellent; it was just that his brain and his self-doubt got in the way usually. And when Douglas could switch off Martin's second-guessing... he was beautiful.

Douglas stood up and walked a little closer to the bed, looking down at his lover. Martin's collar gleamed dully in the filtered sunlight and it gave him the same thrill of possession he'd had with every one of those wedding rings he'd given, but this time it was even better. There had been no promise before witnesses, no legally-binding paperwork to hold him to it. Martin was here, was his, entirely because he wanted to be; not because of Douglas' rank or his money or for the sake of keeping up appearances, but because of Douglas himself and he’d never realised until he had it, how much difference that made.

Carefully Douglas climbed back onto the bed, his expensive mattress barely dipping to disturb his lover. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the curve of Martin's exposed shoulder and watched a smile bloom on perfect Cupid's bow lips as Martin's pale eyes fluttered open. He watched Martin roll onto his back, almost beneath Douglas now, long fingers sliding up Douglas’ bracing arms to curl lightly around his neck and shoulders.

"Morning," Martin murmured and pulled him down into a sleepy kiss. Douglas smiled against Martin’s lips - just what he needed, always.

FIN


End file.
